Work Party Wednesday 14 October 2015Mike Baker

This work party was specially called to try and get the trailer park cleared and, at least, partially paved before the winter sets in. I think about eight guys turned up and the day started typically with coffee and doughnuts (a Bodgit & Son, staple).

The first job tacked was to re-erect the covered area at the club end of the quarter-deck. This was designed to fit together with a minimum of fuss and apart from some timber swelling issues went up pretty quickly.

The team then moved up to the car park and began removing a variety of road trailers from the trailer park. I have to say very few looked like they were in a condition to be taken out on the public roads. Many had tyres which were well past their ‘use by’ date or just flat. Some trailers had no tyres and or no suspension units. All looked like they needed some TLC and a coat of paint. Many were not identified and may end up being disposed of. Other sundry junk was then removed and the whole area gone over with a strimmer.

The area immediately inside the entrance gate was then levelled and the business of slab laying got underway. This involved laying a mesh anti-weed membrane over the area then using sharp sand, which also had to be levelled, on which to lay the paving slabs. This is a slow and backbreaking business given the weight of the slabs.

Lunch provided a short welcome break but then it was back to work. By the end of the day most people had sore backs and aching knees.

There’s still a lot to do and we have almost run out of paving slabs. So if anybody knows where we can lay our hands on some cheap slabs please let Bodgit & Son know asap.

Also if you have a trailer in the park please take steps to clearly identify it or it may end up going for scrap. You have been warned!

Grateful thanks to all the guys who helped on the 14th, it was much appreciated. We couldn’t have got as much done as we did without your help.

Mike Baker (VC – Programmes)

We lost access to the trailer park and most of the cark due to Thames Water fitting an emergency dump pipe in March 2014; we were told it would take 2 - 3 months. We got full use of everything on September 11 2015; the day we needed the space for the Mid Thames Trophy event we hosted.